Rebuilding a life
by CohenNAtwood
Summary: Five years ago Ryan had been told he was a father now suffering through a tragedy pulls him back to everything that is New Port. As he struggles to help Daniel his son deal with the aftermath of it all. Things are different especially now that Marissa's b
1. Adjusting

Rebuilding a life

Ryan was coming downstairs carrying an overnight bag which he had dropped at the bottom of the stairs. "Danny come on! If we don't leave now we're gonna be late and you know how Grandma Cohen feels about that" Ryan said.

Daniel appeared at the top of the stairs. "Sorry dad but I had to bring my new comic to show Uncle Seth" He said coming down with the comic in one hand and a back pack in another. Ryan laughed to himself.

"Alright so you all ready to go?" Ryan said. "Yep.Let's go" He said. Ryan grabbed his bag. "Give me that" Ryan said taking Daniel's and opened the front door. "Let's go" Ryan said. He opened the back door to his truck and let Danny hop in. "Seat belt" Ryan reminded him. "Okay I remember" he said putting it on.

Ryan threw the bags in the hatch and jumped in on the driver's side. He looked in his mirror and saw Danny already reading his comic and the site made Ryan smile. After all there wasn't a whole lot for Ryan to smile about except for Danny these days as he pulled away.

After Theresa told him about Daniel and how he was his father. Sandy had begged Ryan just to stick out the last two weeks and graduate with the rest of his class.

Of course Ryan wanted to be there for Daniel and Theresa no matter how hurt he had been about her lying all this time but in the end decided that Sandy was right. After Graduation he had talked it over with Theresa and she had agreed to move with Ryan to Berkeley so that he could finish school actually it was her idea.

That was the one thing She refused to stand in the way of. Ryan had been angry with her at first but ultimately decided that her heart was in the right place so he had found a way to accept what she had done.

They had lived together for five years, after graduating from Berkeley Ryan even got a job as an assistant architect in Berkeley so they had inevitably settled there.

One night Ryan had gotten a phone call telling him that Theresa had been in a car accident. Luckily Daniel was with Theresa's mom so he immediately rushed to the hospital. However it was too late. They had explained it as a case of the roads being to slippery and her car had been hit head on by a drunk driver sending her car into the guard rail.

The funeral was small and was held in chino where Maria (theresa's mom) had felt it should be. Ryan had then decided for the sake of Daniel to move back to Chino. This way he could still be close to Maria and still be close enough to see the Cohen's.

Ryan knew that what Daniel needed right now was stability. Which was why they made frequent weekend trips to New Port. Everything Ryan had did after the day Theresa had told him he was a father he did with Daniel in mind and that was something he didn't regret and never would.

He pulled up in front of the mansion he used to call home. He turned the car off. "Okay buddy we're here" Ryan said getting out. Daniel jumped out of the car while Ryan had opted to grab the bags. Ryan caught up to him as he had just opened the front door without knocking as Ryan had reminded him time and time again too knock only for Kirsten to turn around and tell Ryan that "They were her boys and they never had to knock because the door would always be open for them" Ryan looked at him.

"Danny slow down" Ryan said trying to stop him from running down the hallway of the Cohen's house. "There's my grand son" Kirsten said with a smile. "Grandma" He said hugging her. Ryan set the bags down. "Why don't you go in to Rosa and she'll give you a snack" Kirsten said. "Okay" Daniel said running out.

She walked over to Ryan. "Hey" She said. He hugged her and she kissed his cheek. "So how's he doing?" She said. "Still trying to deal with everythinh I guess" Ryan said. "And you?" Kirsten said. "My concern is Danny. You know that" Ryan said just as she expected because that was just typical Ryan.

"Ryan I'm worried about you" She said concerned sketched across her face. "Don't be Kirsten. I'm fine alright?" he said. She smiled sadly knowing when it was better not to push. "Where's Sandy?" he said.

"Out surfing. He should be back soon" She said. "Alright well I'm gonna put these bags in the pool house" he said picking them up and going out back.

Ryan had threw the bags on the chair sat down and put his head in his hands.

"Hello" Seth said entering the Cohen home. He walked into the kitchen to see Daniel sitting at the table. "Uncle Seth" He said. "Hey. There's my best nephew" Seth said. "Seth he's you're only nephew" Ryan said coming in from the pool house.

"Hey Ryan "Seth said giving him a pound. "So Danny you show Uncle Seth that comic you brought?" Ryan said. "Oh which reminds me here you go Danny the next edition of Atomic county hot off the presses" Seth said throwing it on the table. "Wow thanks Uncle Seth" He said with a smile.

"Your welcome buddy" Seth said. Ryan smiled at their interaction. It was funny because Danny seemed to get along with him better then anyone which had sort of reminded him of his own friend ship with Seth. They just got along easily.

Daniel as it turns out had taken a real liking to Seth and when they were home that's all he practically talked about Seth and his comic book company. Sandy came into the kitchen. "Well, Well all my boys in the kitchen" he said.

"Hey grandpa" Daniel said. "Hey kiddo" Sandy said. "What's going on dad?" Seth said smiling. "Nothing much son. Ryan nice to always nice to have you home" He said. "Thanks Sandy" Ryan said. "Dad why do you call grandpa Sandy?" Daniel said being curious.

"Danny we talked about this remember? Grandpa and Grandma were my legal guardians when I got to high school. You remember Grandma Atwood?" he said. "Yes" he said. "Well she's my mother" he said. "So if grandpa isn't you're dad then who is?" Daniel said.

Ryan looked at him chosing to be honest. "My dad left when I was little" Ryan said. Seth and Sandy looked on. "So do you don't have a dad the same way I don't have mommy anymore" he said. Ryan looked at him his heart slowly breaking from the pain that this kid had to go through in the last few months that had all started from losing Theresa.

"Danny even those mommy's gone doesn't mean you don't have a mother" Ryan said trying to make him understand but somehow it was never enough. Danny had always asked questions like that over and over and Ryan had reminded him over and over but it just didn't seem to work. But she isn't here" Daniel said walking away from the conversation and leaving the kitchen.

Ryan looked back to Seth and Sandy. "he's still having a hard time with it?" Sandy said. "Yeah I thought that moving to Chino would be better for him but he's still having a rough time" Ryan said sadly. "How's school going?" Seth said concerned. "He's not really fitting in with the kids. You know he plays baseball for fun while other kids his age are stealing hub caps in Chino"Ryan said to prove his point.

"So he must feel like an outsider then" Sandy said. "Join the club" Seth said sarcastically. "He spends a lot of time at maria's and a lot of time with his comics but no time with kids his own age" Ryan said. "Maybe you should think about moving back here "Seth said throwing on the table for like the billionth time and he hoped that he was finally wearing Ryan down.

Truth was as much as Seth missed not having Ryan around he knew that Daniel might be better in New Port. "I dunno I mean eight months ago I was dragging him to Chino and that's not working but he needs some sort of stableness and I'm not sure if moving again would be the right way to handle this" Ryan said.

"Well there's always room at the Cohen house" Sandy said. "Thanks Sandy" He said. "Yeah and you know there's always a guest house at mine and summer's. It's no pool house but I think it's alright "Seth said joking. Ryan laughed. "Thanks but I can't intrude" He said.

"Come on you're my brother Ryan plus Summer would love having Danny around. I know Marissa would be happy to see you again" Seth said. Ryan looked up after hearing that. "Marissa?" he said confused. "Oh. I didn't mention she's been back for awhile works for the design team for the New Port group" Seth said.

"Good for her but I think Chino's the answer for right now" Ryan said. "Alright you guys have fun I got some work to do. See ya later" Sandy said leaving. "I should really get out of here too. I gotta meet Summer but maybe we could do dinner tomorrow. I'll bring Sum you bring Danny" he said.

"Some date" Ryan said joking. Seth laughed. "Well see ya later man" Seth said. "Later" Ryan said his mind drifting to the one thing that ever made sense to him. Marissa.

True he hadn't seen her pretty much since she had told him of her plan to go to Hawaii with her dad and of course they promised to keep in touch but it just never happened.

That was something Ryan had always regretted and now that Seth had told him she was back made him wonder if he would ever see her again.

His thoughts we're broken when he heard "Dad can we go rent a dvd" Danny had yelled from the living room. Ryan laughed. "Sure" he said going off to find his son.


	2. Nothing worse then shopping

A/N: The idea for this story just came to me and I thought it might be a fun change especially to the Ryan Marissa story because this will definitely be a r/m story. As for the show it somewhat has the same story line except there was no accident and the fact that daniel winds up to be Ryan's son. Other then that everything else is pretty much the same history. Please comment and let me know how you feel about the story. Thanks!

Nothing worse then shopping

The next morning Ryan had told Kirsten he was going to take Danny shopping since School was starting up again in a few weeks. He really needed to update his wardrobe.

There was nothing Ryan hated more was to go shopping and he had always tried to get out of it by passing him off to Summer but Danny felt that he was getting older and he would rather have his dad be there. So he grinned and bared it as they went from shop to shop.

Of course Daniel got easily bored as Ryan was signing his name to the receipt as the lady had handed him his credit card as well as his bag.

Ryan looked up and found that he wasn't standing there. So he scanned the store before frantically going outside and looking around to find no Daniel. Now Ryan's heart was in his throat and he didn't even no where to begin to look.

Meanwhile Daniel had wandered around looking in the store windows just as a women had stepped out of the shop next door. Something about him just made her stop to look. She didn't know why but something just looked off.

Taking his appearance he couldn't be more then six or seven and he was alone which only meant one thing. "Hey" She said going over to him. Daniel stared at her not sure if should talk.

"My name's Marissa. Can you tell me yours "she said smiling. "Daniel" he said. "Daniel are you lost? Do you know where you're parents are?" she said.

And before he could answer they heard a voice. "Daniel there you are" and then it all made sense as she stood to face Ryan Atwood. "Don't you ever do that to me again. Do you have any idea how much you scared me?" he said looking at him.

"Sorry I was just bored" he said. "You can't disappear just because you're bored buddy Ryan said angry but thankful that he was alright and then he remembered that a stranger was standing there as he said

"I'm sorry if he caused you any trouble" he said catching eyes with her. "It's okay Ryan" She said. Ryan smiled. "Marissa" he said not expecting her to see her like this.

The way he had said her name made her smile. "So this would be the famous Daniel" She said. Now Daniel was confused. "Dad do you know Marissa?" he said.

"Yeah I do we met when I first came to live with Grandpa and Grandma" Ryan said. Marissa assumed he meant the Cohen's being that Ryan had never really known his dad and Theresa's dad was never around either. "So you're like friends?" he assumed.

Ryan stared at her. "Yeah" Marissa said knowing this was awkward for Ryan. He nodded. "Dad can we go eat now?" He said. Ryan messed with his hair. "Alright" he said. "I'm sorry Marissa it looks as if we bored him" Ryan said. "That's okay" She said.

"Can she come?" He said which surprised Ryan ever since Theresa had died he had never taken interest into other women other then his grandma's and Summer. Ryan laughed nervously.

"Danny I'm sure Marissa has a lot to do you know the last thing she wants to be doing is having lunch at an arcade like restaurant" Ryan said.

"I hear they just opened up a chuckie cheese. What do you think Daniel?" She said with a smile. "Dad listen to her" he said pulling at Ryan's sleeve getting excited which made Ryan chuckle. "Alright let's go" he said with Marissa and Daniel walking beside him.

They had been there for a matter of twenty minutes and Daniel had already ran off to play some games leaving them to talk. Marissa talked first.

"So how's Theresa?" she said. Ryan was shocked he was sure she would know by now.

Marissa looked at him. "Ryan?" she said waiting for him to speak. "It's just I thought you knew. Umm.. Theresa passed away" He said. Which from the look of her face he could tell that she definitely hadn't known.


	3. Cosmo Girl

**A/N: Thanks for all the comments and as always please review!**

**Cosmo Girl**

"So how's Theresa?" she said. Ryan was shocked he was sure she would know by now. Marissa looked at him. "Ryan?" she said waiting for him to speak. "It's just I thought you knew. Umm Theresa passed away" He said. Which from the look of her face he could tell that she hadn't. "How? When? "she said barely being able to form the words. "About eight months ago. She was driving and a drunk driver pushed her car into the guard rail. She never made it to the hospital" Ryan said.

Her eyes showed concern and that look he's been getting from everyone since that day he called it sympathy. "Ryan I'm so sorry. I had no idea. Was there a funeral?" she said. "Yeah, but it's was small and I didn't want everyone to make a big deal out of it since Danny had been taking it hard. So I asked the Cohen's not to come. Actually it was only me, Danny and Maria, a few people from the neighborhood and Seth despite my pleading him not to come. He thought I needed someone to help" he said looking at her.

She understood shaking her head. "I'm so sorry. God it must have been so hard to lose someone that you" she stopped not being able to say more.

"Actually I've been more worried about Danny" he said taking the attention from himself. "Typical Ryan Atwood always helping others and forgetting about him self" She said. Marissa still knew him like no else ever could and it would probably be like that forever.

"Yeah well with kids come priority I guess" he said. She smiled. "You're a good dad" she said. "And you know this by spending a lousy thirty minutes together with us?" he said joking.

"No of course not it's just who you are. You always said that you would never be the kind of father that walked away. You would always make sure your kid was taken care of" she reminded him. "What I really meant was I wouldn't be my father" he said.

"You're nothing like him" Marissa said. "You don't know him" Ryan said. "That's true however I do know you and it's just not how you are. You never were and you never will be" she said. Ryan nodded. "So New Port huh? So how long you been back?" he said chaning the subject.

She laughed. "About three months I would say" she said. "Seth was telling me about a job for the New port group" Ryan threw in. "Did he mention that Julie's my boss" Marissa said throwing that in trying to see his reaction which was clearly a shocked expression.

"You work for Julie Cooper?" He said amazed. She laughed. "Well she is my mother" She said. "Yeah who you've never been able to get along with for longer then a week let alone a day" He said.

"Well she called me in Hawaii nothing big was happening. It was a nice opportunity, a way to make more money be back in California, sees you guys again. So I just accepted and it surprisingly hasn't been that bad" Marissa said.

"Yeah well I guess there is Kirsten to always keep you sane" Ryan said with a laugh. "Very true" she said. "So how's Jimmy doing?" Ryan said. "Dad is okay. He's still chartering boats. He's doing alright for himself, well as much as he can" She said.

"That's good. So how's Kaitlyn still enjoying New York more then College?" he said. She looked at him so he had checked up and truth was Marissa had always thought after she had heard that he would be leaving with Theresa that she would never see him again. She just figured it would be too hard.

"Kaitlyn's giving my mother grey hair" Marissa said joking. "I think you're giving Kaitlyn too much credit. I'm sure you've turned a few strands grey yourself" he said which made her laugh.

"Well I guess I did. I mean after all I was an emotional train wreck as a teenager" she said. "Which wasn't entirely you're fault" he reminded her. "I know but I did make some mistakes and I'm not afraid to own up to it and say that now" she said. "I guess there's a reason we call them mistakes" he said looking at her.

She nodded. "Daddy look at all these tickets that I got" Daniel said coming over. "That's great Danny. So why don't you go over to the counter and pick out something" Ryan said. "Okay but will you come with me?" he said.

Marissa heart was breaking at the sight of Ryan interacting with his son. His son. Ryan was someone's dad. She just couldn't believe it. "Alright I'll come" Ryan said getting up. "You too?" Daniel said looking back at Marissa who had looked at Ryan.

"Yeah sure why not? So Daniel what kind of prizes do they give out? Is it still like slinkies and tattoos?" She said sounding excited. "Oh that's what I want. I want a tattoo" He said looking at his father excited. "Okay well preferably washable or otherwise none at all" Ryan said in his dad voice. "Dads they really know how to ruin the fun" Marissa said laughing. Ryan poked her side having caught on to her teasing him.

"So what do you think Danny?" Ryan said. "Danny?" he said. "What?" Daniel said not paying attention" "The action figure or Marissa interrupted "Or perhaps the girl on the side waiting for her prize" Marissa said pointing to show what had distracted his son to which Ryan had laughed.

True he was only seven but he was his son. "I guess the action figure" He said. "Excellent you just made Uncle Seth very proud" Ryan said. Marissa smiled. "So are we going to Uncle Seth's because I really want to see Summer" Daniel said leaving as Ryan and Marissa had been walking behind him. "Yeah where supposed to be having dinner at their house" Ryan said. "Alright" he said excited.

"Comic books make him giddy" Ryan joked. Marissa laughed. "Well then Seth must be like his best friend" She said with a smile. "You know if you're not busy. You should come. It's just gonna be Seth and Summer me and Danny you could make it seem like a less bizarre date" Ryan said without thinking and wanted to kick himself afterwards. "Not that this is or would be a date It's just" he said.

"Ryan I get it but unfortunately as much as I would like too I have plans with my mom we're supposed to go over some stuff" She said smiling apologetically. Ryan nodded. "Right well you know you're job comes first" he said.

"So you're here for the weekend right?" she said. "Yeah we're driving back Sunday afternoon. "Great so how about the diner tomorrow morning for pancakes?" She said waiting for his answer. He laughed at her forwardness. "Sounds like a plan" Ryan said.

"Great so it was nice meeting you Daniel" She said. "You can call me Danny" He said. Marissa didn't realize the sentiment but Ryan sure did.

The only other people in his life who had addressed him as Danny was Ryan, Seth, Summer and Theresa. So obviously she had made a lasting impression with him.

"Okay Danny. Well Ryan I will see you tomorrow morning at the diner by the pier and you can come too if you want" She said looking at Danny. "I'll See ya tomorrow" Ryan said. "Bye Ryan" she said walking away.

"Bye Marissa" Daniel said which made Ryan laugh. "Bye Danny" she said leaving with a laugh. "You know dad Marissa sure does look like Cosmo girl from Uncle Seth's Comic" Daniel said pointing out. Ryan laughed. "Come on kid. I think we're done shopping for the day" Ryan said heading towards the exit.


	4. So You Saw Marissa

A/N: I know this was slow going but bare with me it's been quite hectic. The more you comment the quicker I post. Thanks to everyone who has commented already!

**So you Saw Marissa**

"Hello" Ryan said entering his best friends house as he closed the door a small smile came upon his face at seeing a short darker haired women one he had known since high school.

"Danny, Chino" She said with a smile forming on her face. "Aunt Summer" Danny said instantly hugging her. "Aw I missed you buddy" She said hugging him just as tightly.

"I saw Uncle Seth yesterday but you didn't come" he said. "Yeah I know I'm sorry about that sweetie I had some work to finish up but to make up for it I did order your favorite dinner" Summer said with a smile.

"All right Pizza" Danny said excitedly. Summer and Ryan laughed. "And as a bonus why don't you go on into the living room because Uncle Seth just brought home a new video game" She said.

To which he didn't wait to respond he immediately headed for the living room. Summer turned and smiled at Ryan. "How are you Atwood" she said kissing his cheek sometimes he forgot that they were grown up and it was when they greeted each other like this he had realized just how much things had changed.

"Oh you know things are okay" Ryan said. "Yeah so shopping went well today?" Summer said trying to pry. "Well I'm no you but I tried and then of course I almost took a heart attack because he just decided to walk off while I was signing the receipt and I couldn't find him" Ryan said looking at her.

"Yeah he gets antsy you have to watch out for that" Summer informed him. "Yeah thanks for the heads up" Ryan said sarcastically. "Please he is an Atwood to the fullest extent he just has little patience" Summer said. Ryan laughed.

"So I guess things worked out okay since he's here so obviously you found him" She said walking towards the kitchen with Ryan following. "Yeah you know he walked off found him a few stores a way" He said.

"He didn't talk to a stranger did he? because I warned him about that last time" Summer said. "Well I wouldn't say she was exactly a stranger he's just never met her before" Ryan said looking at Summer. She smiled Curiously.

"So when were you gonna tell me Marissa was back in town?" He said. "I thought Seth would have mentioned it by now. But I don't know I guess I thought you had a lot on your plate to deal with you know why add to that" she said.

"Sum" he said waiting for the real answer. "Okay I didn't know how to tell you but for the record she doesn't know that you come back to New port all the time either" Summer said proving her point.

"Well that became apparent when she asked me how Theresa was?" he threw in. Summer looked at him sadly and shook her head knowing that could have only been bad.

"Ryan I'm sorry I should have told her its just I didn't want to meddle it's such a Seth thing to do! And you know I barely see her since she's been back just a few conversations here and there. Actually I think I see and speak to you more then her go figure huh?" Summer said.

"Its okay it had to happen to eventually I guess I just thought she would have known if not through you through Julie or Kristen" He said.

"She doesn't see Kirsten either they may work for the same company but Kristen is barely ever in the office these days swamped with meetings I guess. And Julie well I don't know what her deal is" Summer said scrunching her face.

"So how's the new line coming?" Ryan said. She looked at him surprised. "Good you know a few of my sketches were picked for the spring collection so things are good. So how's Marie and things going in Chino?" She said. Ryan shrugged.

"Marie is well. I guess things are as good as can be expected she went over to Chino hills and signed him up he starts in two weeks" he informed her. "Still having a hard time fitting in?" She said.

"Yeah I guess the kids there just don't really understand him" Ryan said. "You know it's not too late I could call Dr. Kim put in a good word to have Danny enrolled at harbor elementary" she pointed out.

"Thanks Summer but you know between the drive and everything I'm not sure that's the greatest thing for right now" Ryan said. "Well you could move back here you are way too talented and have to much schooling for that job you got anyway" Summer threw in about his construction job. Ryan smiled.

"And moving's gonna fix the fact that I can bring Theresa back?" He confessed. She sighed.

"Of course not but it can bring Danny some happiness you know the Cohen's love him to death and Seth and I would love to see him more and you. Atwood don't you deserve a little happiness after everything's that's happened?" Summer said.

"Summer" she interrupted. "I swear to god Ryan if you say one more time that your job is to put Danny first I may just put you through a wall" She said to which made Ryan nervous. Summer laughed nervously.

"Sorry Rage black out" She reminded him. "That's obvious gee I haven't seen one of those since high school at least when it was directed at me" he said. Instead of receiving a glare he got a smile from her.

"The point is you've done everything right by Danny you always have. You couldn't be a better father" Summer said. He nodded.

"But I think Theresa is affecting you and your just avoiding it and that's not good either Ryan and you know that" Summer said. He looked at her.

"How could I not be affected she wanted marriage, she wanted every part of what a family should be. We were never even close because of the fact that I held back because as much as I loved her I just couldn't love her enough" He admitted.

"And you're punishing yourself because of that? Ryan you can't control who you love, who you don't and just because she's gone doesn't mean that your wrong for feeling the way that you do" Summer said.

"If I could have just made her happy, if I could have just given in and married her given her a life that made her happy She interrupted

"Ryan would you listen to yourself then she would have gotten one but not a happy one, and definitely not one that she or you deserved and you know that" She said.

"You marry someone because you honestly with your whole heart love them and if it's anything less then that you can't even consider it" Summer said seriously "Yeah I guess your right" he said.

The door bell rang. "It's not about being right it's about what you want out of your life. You mind getting the boys while I go pay the delivery guy" she said walking off.

"Sure" he said. "Things will get better you just have to give it time Atwood" She said looking at him. He nodded and with that she left the kitchen and he went into the living room and got Seth and Danny.

After dinner Seth walked Ryan out as Summer asked if Danny could sleep over. Ryan accepted. "So it was good tonight man little miss vixen, the ironist and kid chino add Cosmo girl and the night would have been complete" Seth said.

Ryan stared at him and sighed. "Danny" Ryan said knowing the answer.

"He might have mentioned that you guys ran into Marissa this morning and we talked about her resemblance to Cosmo girl. By the way I can't believe you never explained to him that your kid chino" Seth said mocking him.

"What can I say I didn't want him to think that I was this dangerous bruiting guy who goes around fighting people. Not the type of guy you want your son to look up to" He said.

"See that's where your wrong because if Danny could be anything like you when he grows up he'd be lucky" Seth said. Ryan looked at him silently waiting for the punch line.

"You know of course leave out the whole aggression that you Atwood's seem to carry around" Seth said joking. Ryan laughed.

"So you saw Marissa" Seth said. "Yep I saw Marissa" Ryan said nodding. "And?" He said. "And we talked for awhile. We're actually having breakfast tomorrow" Ryan said. Seth smiled at him.

"You know I was wondering when you too were actually gonna run into each other" he said. "Well it's not like I live here" Ryan said. "Yeah but your practically here almost every weekend" Seth pointed out.

"I don't know maybe if you or Summer told one of us that we were both around it would have happened sooner I guess" Ryan said. "I'm sorry bro it's just I know how it ended with you guys and I didn't know if telling you was the best idea" Seth said.

"Because you thought if I knew I might run away avoid New Port" Ryan said knowing exactly why they hadn't told him. "Well it is the Atwood way and not to mention sort of the Cooper way" Seth said.

"Look I can't speak for Marissa but Seth I'm an adult and I'm not running. True things ended and then I was with Sadie she was Volchuk and then when that was over well Theresa came to me telling me about Danny and then after Graduation you know She went to Greece I went to Berkeley we lost contact that sort of thing happens no big deal" he said shrugging his shoulders.

"So was it weird?" Seth said. "Seeing Marissa Cooper again after five years of silence no it wasn't weird at all" Ryan said sarcastically with a cheeky smile. Seth grinned.

"You know honestly it wasn't all that awkward but you could just tell things have changed you know we're older now" Ryan said.

"And arguably more wiser then ever before" Seth said finding the humor in all of it. "Right well then there's that too" Ryan said with a laugh.

"Alright man drive safe" Seth said. Ryan opened the car door and closed it remembering what Summer had said which was still fresh in his mind.

"See ya tomorrow" Ryan said pulling out of the drive way as Seth waved him off and went back in the house.


	5. Sunday Morning

**A/N: It's been awhile decided to update... Please comments are definitely needed so I know whether to keep going with this. To those of you who have been commenting and reviewing thanks you guys are great.**

**Sunday Morning**

Ryan jumped out of his truck and headed towards the diner. He was meeting Marissa for breakfast as planned. Ryan opened the door and looked around and spotted her sitting by the back booth. Marissa looked up upon seeing him.

"Hey" he said smiling walking towards her. "Hey" she said. "Sorry I had you waiting" Ryan said sitting across from her. "No its okay I've only been here a few minutes" she said. "Right" he said.

"Hey what can I get you guys?" the waitress said coming over. Marissa looked at him and he smiled. "Two short stacks and coffee please" Ryan said. "Okay coming right up" She said walking away. "Thanks" Ryan said. "I'm impresses that you remember" Marissa told him.

"Yeah well we did eat here a lot during High School" He pointed out. Marissa laughed. "Yeah we practically lived here" She added which made Ryan smile. "So where's Danny?" Marissa asked. "At Seth's he wanted to spend the night last night. He hasn't spent much time with Summer in awhile so she asked of it was alright if Danny could stay so they could stay up and watch movies Ryan told her.

"Must be nice for him to always have family around" She said. "Yeah he does love the Cohen's and Seth and Summer" he said. "Well who could not like Seth Cohen? It must be in the Atwood DNA to befriend him" she said.

"Tell me about it. But you know in all fairness Seth has been helping me out a lot lately especially when it comes to Danny. He calls during the week he drives into Chino at least once sometimes twice a week. It helps for Danny too because he's not really like the other kids there" Ryan explained. "More like the outsider? Well I guess we all can sympathize with that She added.

"Yeah plus Seth really has him into comics and of course play station He said. She smiled. "So I know I said this already but I am really sorry about Theresa" Marissa said looking at him. Ryan nodded. "Thanks" he said looking back at her. "It can't be easy raising him all by yourself" she said assuming.

"Yeah but you know I don't always do it alone we got Maria there during the week, The Cohen's on the weekends when we come into New Port. Danny's got a lot of people who love him" Ryan told her.

"Well he is a pretty amazing kid" Marissa said. "Yeah well you might just be his favorite person right now. At dinner last night he talked Summer's ear off about how he met you and how you played arcade games with him" He said laughing right along with her.

"Aw well I'm just glad he had fun" She added. "He definitely did" Ryan said. "Here you go" the waitress said coming over with their order. "Thanks" they said. "So you guys go back today? She asked.

"Yeah this afternoon we drive back start another week and them come back to New Port every other weekend but lately Danny's been finding more and more excuses to come up here every weekend but you know I don't really mind" He added.

"Just as long as he's happy" She added. "Exactly" he said looking back at her. "So how is it being back in Chino?" Marissa asked him. He shrugged. "You know it's different and it's sort of been kind of a challenge I guess" Ryan said.

"I mean it's honestly not as bad as it was when I was growing up. We live in a pretty decent house, got a decent job at the construction site" he explained. Marissa nodded.

"It still must be quite an adjustment" She assumed. "Yeah it is the neighborhood is not exactly the greatest but it never really was" Ryan said. She nodded.

"So how does Danny like it? "Marissa asked him. "Well he doesn't so much I guess he gets kind of bored probably more now that he's still out of school there's nothing to really keep him busy" he said. "Which probably keeps you busy enough for the both of you She said with a laugh.

"Well I try" Ryan said. She nodded. "Well I guess we should probably eat before it gets cold" Marissa said. "Right" he said. They finished a while later and left the diner and just started walking down the pier. "So you're an architect?" Marissa said.

"Yeah you know finished Berkeley got a job in the area held it for awhile" he told her. "That's good that's really good Ryan" She said. "So it looks like your doing good for yourself too I mean design team for the New Port group" he added. She laughed.

"Well it's not exactly building house it's just designing the interior of the home furniture, paint wise, setting the model homes up so potential clients can look at them" Marissa said. "So I guess you went to college after all" he assumed.

"Yeah after going to Hawaii I thought about it started a semester later and graduated" She said. "That's great I always knew that you're meant for big things" Ryan said. She looked at him sadly. "So were you" she told him. "I'm not sure about that as evidence to everything that's happened in my life" he said.

"That's not exactly true I mean yeah things have happened to you but you've always managed to piece your life back together you'll find your way back this time too" She said. "You assuming I'm lost?" he asked. "No I just he interrupted

"Because you wouldn't be the first person to tell me that. In fact I this conversation with Summer last night" he said. "And what did she say?" Marissa asked listening. "She seems to think I'm avoiding the reality of it all. Throwing myself into taking care of Danny so I don't have to think about it" Ryan admitted.

"You mean Theresa" she said. "Yeah" he said. "Well are you?" she said. "I guess maybe I don't know its just when she died it was a like a reaction and now that I've started it its she interrupted "hard for you to stop" she said. "Yeah" Ryan said.

"Well I'm not judging I think you're doing one of hell of a job with Danny and Theresa would say the same" Marissa said. "Thanks" Ryan said looking at her. "Your welcome" She said with a smile. Ryan checked his watch.

"Well I should really get back get Danny grab our stuff from the house" he said. "Yeah hold on a minute" she said going through her purse and pulling out a piece of paper.

"I know you're not usually into the whole getting help from others but just in case you know if you ever want to talk or whatever. Here's my number" Marissa said handing it to him. He accepted. "Thanks. I'll see you again we come out here enough" Ryan said.

She giggled. "Okay" Marissa said. "Alright I'll Talk to you soon" he said "See ya" She said watching him walk away.

Meanwhile back at Seth and Summer's She was trying to get Danny ready in time Ryan had called a little while ago letting her know he'd be over to pick him up. "You got your stuff kiddo" Summer asked Danny. "Yeah it's all by the front door" he added.

The door bell rang and Summer went to answer. Ryan came in. "Hey kiddo you ready to hit the road?" He said ruffling Danny's hair. "Yeah" he said. "Hey look what I gotcha" Ryan said handing him batteries. Danny smiled excited.

"So you could play your video games on the way home" Ryan said. "Cool thanks dad. I'm going to grab my game and put them in" he said running off. Summer smiled. Ryan looked at her. "Come on Roberts I know you want to ask me. You might as well get it over with" he said with a smile.

"So how'd it go?" She said excited. "It was alright it was nice getting to spend time with her catching up" Ryan said. "Okay Seriously Atwood I know your not a girl but you need to seriously work on your description skills" Summer said poking fun at him.

"What I'm sorry I don't know what else you want me to say" he said. "Well are you guys going to hang out again?" She asked. "We left it open" Ryan said. "Good because you know you and Marissa should be friends I mean you've known each other long enough" She said. Ryan smiled.

"Right I get it Sum and I am glad we ran into each other the other day its been a long time" he said. She smiled.

"Oh by the way you know I don't know how you'd feel about this but there's this comic book convention that there setting up for next week it's actually right in New Port and Seth has to be there all week we thought it might be fun if Danny maybe stayed a few days during the week" Summer said waiting for his reaction.

"Sure you know Schools not for another week after that. I'll talk to Maria let her know he'll be staying with you guys for the week" Ryan said. "A whole week gosh Chino your being generous" Summer said getting excited to have her nephew be staying with her.

"Well I knew to you a few days really means a week and you know besides I'll be in over the weekend after that week so it's not a problem" he explained. "Great" she said. He nodded. "So I'll drop him to you guys on Sunday" Ryan said.

"Oh so I guess you have another reason to spend this coming weekend in New Port then. What do you know" Summer said smiling. He laughed. "Sometimes you are so obvious Roberts" Ryan said. She laughed. "Well can I help it that I like seeing you" Summer said.

"No but you know where not that far away Chino's only an hour from here" He said. "I'm sorry Atwood but its just me and Chino Ewww…. Never gonna happen" She said. Ryan laughed.

"Plus you know I think Seth makes up for the both of us" Summer added. "Yeah" he said. "So I'll see you next week" Summer said hugging him. "Yep and tell Seth I'll call him" Ryan said. "I'll do that come on I'll walk you guys out" She said.

"Okay buddy you be good" Summer said helping Danny into the car. "Bye Aunt summer" he said. "See you next week" she said smiling closing the door and walking over to the passenger side seat and leaning into the open window.

"You take care alright" She told Ryan. "Don't worry about me mom" He teased. "Hey I can't help it" Summer said. "Let us know you got home okay" She added. "I promise" He told her.

"And Roberts thanks" he said. "Don't thank me it's all in days work. See you soon Chino" Summer said walking away from the car.

Ryan pulled away and they went back to the Cohen's he grabbed their stuff while Kirsten spent some time saying goodbye to Danny by the car. "Okay all set" Ryan said throwing the stuff in the back.

"Drive safe" Kirsten said. "We'll be back" Ryan added. "Next weekend?" Danny asked. "Yeah I'm supposed to be dropping you off for the comic book convention on Sunday anyways so might as well" Ryan said.

Kirsten smiled and hugged Ryan goodbye after having kissed and hugged Danny goodbye. "Tell Sandy we'll see him soon" Ryan added walking around to the driver's side.

"Seat belt" both Kirsten and Ryan immediately said which made them both laugh. "Take care Kirsten" Ryan said.

"Say hello to Maria" She said. "Will do" he said smiling.

"Bye boys" She said watching Ryan drive down the drive way and then it was back to chino well until the weekend that is.


	6. A dreary night in Chino

A/N: It's been awhile so I've just been in the mood to update my stories just trying to get around to all of them. Thanks for the reviews. Please R/R

**A dreary night in Chino**

Three nights later it was raining heavily in Chino as Ryan pulled up to their house. Getting out of his truck and making a run for it to the front door. When he got in he put his brief case down and took of his coat and hung it up on the hook.

"Hey where is everyone" Ryan called out. To which he got a rushing Danny running out of from the living room. "Dad your home" he said rather excited at the idea. "Where's your grandma?" Ryan said ruffling his hair.

"Grandma's not here she went home" He explained. "What why would she go home?" Ryan wondered it wasn't like Maria to leave Danny by himself.

"Hey buddy" Seth said appearing before them as he walked towards them coming from the kitchen. "Seth what are you doing here? I thought the next time we'd be seeing you was Friday night when I dropped Danny off" Ryan said looking at him.

"Yeah I thought about that and then I got to thinking about how nasty the weather has been in the past few days. I mean seriously Ryan it's raining in New Port. And it's quite frankly boring, and I had nothing going on today, so I called Maria came on down to Chino, and decided to spend some time with my nephew over here" He said.

Danny smiled. Ryan nodded. "And does Summer know where you are?" Ryan asked. "Yeah she's off spending some time with Marissa they haven't seen each other much lately.

So while they have a girls night I figured we could have a guys night in" Seth insisted. Danny looked at Ryan for a reaction. "I guess I'll call for pizza" he said.

"Already done my friend and seriously tell Antonio that no matter how tough he is he shouldn't get snippy with his customers. I mean you Chino people sure get snobby" Seth said joking.

Ryan laughed. "Well what can I say it's not exactly New Port" Ryan added. "Sadly I even get snubbed there my friend. Okay buddy lets get back to our game. Your dad could take Winner" Seth said following Danny into the living room.

Ryan stood thinking about how a great friend Seth had truly been to him over the years especially stepping up even more where Danny was concerned ever since Theresa had passed.

"Dad" he heard come from the living room. "Yeah I'm coming" Ryan said smiling thinking to himself that this was his life as he walked to the living room and joined them.

Later on Seth had offered to take Danny up to bed giving him a choice of comics to read before.

Of course being his nephew he chose the latest edition of Atomic County. Seth had been up there for awhile so Ryan went to check up on them sometimes Danny could be restless and had trouble going to sleep.

He heard Seth's voice in Story mode and he couldn't help but to listen from behind the cracked open door.

"So Kid Chino after spending another adventurous day dropped off Little Miss Vixen and Cosmo Girl home before returning to his own place with his side kick The Ironist. Soon enough there would be more adventures to face together because united the four were unstoppable He said ending the story.

Ryan laughed quietly. "Okay buddy you be good now" Seth said tucking Danny in as sleep soon found him. "Good night Uncle Seth" he replied before falling fast asleep.

Ryan walked off going downstairs waiting for Seth to make it down. A few minutes later Seth came down the stairs. "So that whole story before bed time really works" Seth said fascinated.

"Yeah but it probably was more about the teller your much better at that then I am. I can't even make up a story for my life" Ryan said. "Well we can't all be me" Seth said. Ryan glared at him.

"So I think I'm going to head out" Seth explained. Ryan looked at him like he was crazy. "No you're not because you're off tomorrow like you said before. It's raining, it's like a storm out there, and the roads are slippery so you get to stay in the guest room" Ryan said.

"Summer won't like that I didn't come home" he said. "So call her then" Ryan said. "But Ryan seriously its not that bad out I could get back to New Port in like an hour" he explained.

"I'm sure Summer won't be mad anymore when she finds out that your safe and sound here rather then stuck on the road in a down pour" Ryan declared.

And then it hit Seth this was about Theresa and the fact that on just a similar night in San Francisco she had met a similar fate and Ryan didn't want to lose another person.

But instead of approaching the topic knowing things were still too touchy he simply said "Okay I'll call Summer let her know I'll be back in the morning" Seth said giving in.

"Phones in the kitchen" Ryan said. "Thanks man" Seth said walking off to go call Summer.

Seth dialed waited to hear several rings before he heard "Hello". "Sum it's me" he said.

"Hey Cohen I was wondering where you were? I was just about to call you. You see it's really nasty outside so I just thought since I'm already hanging out at Marissa's that I should just crash here and come home in the morning" She replied.

"Okay because actually I'm still in Chino and Ryan well being Atwood he won't let me leave. He said the roads are too dangerous" he said.

"Well he's right Cohen I will personally beat your ass back to next year if you even try to drive home in this. I love you too much to let anything happen to you" Summer said knowing that a subject like this hit close to home with Ryan.

Seth smiled and replied "I love you too Summer. So I'll see you tomorrow. Have fun with Coop" he said. "Cohen no matter how much I love you, you can not call Marissa Coop it's just too weird sweetie" She said.

"Hey I let you call Ryan Atwood its only fair" he explained. "Yeah but you never call him Atwood because you see that was my nick name for Ryan which by the way god help you if you ever call him that either" she said.

Summer maybe be small but she was a force to be reckoned with. She had proven that to Seth Cohen over the years of knowing her.

"Okay I promise to never call him Atwood Seth said giving in knowing they were never going to get anywhere if he hadn't. "And not Chino either" Summer said.

"Sum I promise I wont call him Chino either" Ryan heard upon coming into the kitchen grabbing a water from the fridge with a confused look on his face. "Okay night Cohen" She said.

"Say hi to Marissa for me" Seth said looking at Ryan to see if there was a reaction just from speaking her name. Ryan looked up. "Seth says hi" he heard her say to Marissa.

"Hey Seth" Marissa yelled in the background. "Tell Chino I said thanks for keeping your ass safe" Summer said. "Will do Summer" he said hanging up and then turned to look at Ryan.

"So why were you promising never to call me Chino?" He asked confused.

"Because Summer doesn't like that I tried to call Marissa Coop which led her to complain about me never calling you Chino or Atwood. She basically said I should just stick to what I know best and call people by their first names" Seth said.

Ryan looked at him and laughed not phased at all having witnessed the bizarre connection of Seth and Summer for years something like this seemed actually normal for them.

"She also told me to tell you that she thanks you for keeping my ass Safe except of course she referred to you as Chino and not Ryan" he said.

"Not a problem. Well I think I'm going to head up. You know where everything is see you in the morning Cohen" Ryan said sarcastically.

Seth looked at him. "Sorry just testing Summer's theory and she's right it is kind of weird" he replied. Seth laughed. "Night Ryan" he said soon going up to bed himself.

In short this was like Seth's second home when he wasn't in his own or bothering his parents at their house.

Seth always found a reason to come back here because he ultimately knew that as much as Ryan would never say it that he needed Seth.

And after awhile of doing this back and forth thing Seth kind of realized that he had actually missed not having Ryan around as much.

Ever since Ryan had flown home and got the house in Chino Seth always came back to spend some good old fashioned Ryan/Seth time with of course Danny thrown into the mix he thought about this as he went off to the guest room finding sleep soon afterwards.


End file.
